Middle School Summary

Which one of the following is NOT a part of a summary?

• using your own words
• summary being shorter than the text
• quotes words from the text
• including main ideas only

Does the meaning of the text change when you write an objective summary?

• No, it's shorter but has the same meaning.
• Yes, of course the meaning changes because someone else is writing it.
• It depends on the material and who originally wrote it. 

When you write the events you'll want to paraphrase them. Paraphrasing means...

• to list chronologically
• to list objectively
• to reduce to five sentences or less
• to change the wording to your own words

a shortened retelling of the important parts of a text or story

• Review

• Paraphrase

• Summary

• There is no correct answer

When some people think about Texas, they think of cowboys on the open range-herding cattle up a dusty trail. However, Texas has much more than open prairie with large herds of cows. There are the mountains of West Texas, the piney hills of east Texas, and the emerald waters off the coast of Padre Island. Texas also has large coastal harbors with numerous sailboats, powerboats, inland lakes, rivers, swamps of southeast Texas with alligators and other exotic wildlife.
The Summary of this passage is:

• There are a lot of cows in Texas.
• There are many different, varied parts of Texas.
•  Texas is one of the biggest states in the United States.
•  There are alligators in the swampland of southeast Texas.

San Francisco is located on the coast of California in an area often called the Bay Area. The weather is generally very mild, seldom getting really cold or really hot. Its mild climate is one reason many people live there. It seldom snows in San Francisco and generally does not get below freezing during the winter. Even in the middle of summer, temperatures may be in the mid 80s with a cool breeze from the bay keeping the weather very comfortable.
The Summary of this passage is:
 

• San Francisco has many neat things to do.
•  It seldom snows in California.
•  Many people choose to live in California.
•  The weather in San Francisco is generally very mild.

For _____, you need to use your own words

• a paraphrase

• a summary

• both

_____ restates the original text in your own words.

• A paraphrase

• A summary

Choose the best paraphrase: Cannon Beach is visited by thousands of tourists every year.

• Cannon Beach is seen by thousands of tourists every year.

• Thousands of tourists visit Oregon every year.

• Each year, many people visit Cannon Beach.

• Yearly people travel to Cannon Beach for work.

What is the purpose for using transitional words?

• To create more work
• To become a successful writer
• To help your reader follow your ideas
• To create a disconnect